


Darkest Before Dawn

by Slickster46



Series: Darkest before Dawn [1]
Category: The Lorax (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-25
Updated: 2014-02-25
Packaged: 2018-01-13 18:45:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1237057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slickster46/pseuds/Slickster46
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a universe of magic the Once-ler is a powerful sorcerer and a young Theodore Wiggins is his chipper apprentice. However unknown to Ted is that his master is actually using magic to drain the forest of life force to keep himself young and powerful forever. The ancient guardian spirit of the forest the lorax and his apprentice Audrey</p>
            </blockquote>





	Darkest Before Dawn

Once upon a time in a world of magic there was powerful sorcerer who was very skilled in the way of magic. He was a very kind young wizard with pure heart and the best of intentions. He’d gladly make you a spell or potion and even sing you a song and bake you a cake at the same time. When he wasn’t tending to needy souls he worked on coming up with new, better and more efficient spells, that could get more things done He lived in an enchanted forest in crocked looking stone tower that was welcomed rest stop for many travelers and a beacon of hope for all who got lost in the mystical woods. If you truly had no idea where you were going all you had to do was follow the sound of the young sorcerer’s voice as he sung one of his lovely little tunes. The sorcerer would help any traveler with a spell that would lead them to their destination. All was peaceful and well.

But one day something in the sorcerer changed and all of those wonderful things stopped happening and were replaced with a lot of terrible things, horrible things, and unspeakably evil things. No one knows why the sorcerer turned into such a person. Some say that an evil witch put a spell on him in order to spread pain and misery, some said he came across a cussed artifact , others said it was just because he was always evil and all the nice things he did was just an act. No one really investigated any of these claims because they were too busy living in fear of the new evil sorcerer as you could well imagine. But whatever the reason he changed, be it a curse, or good old fashioned unadulterated evil, it was obvious that the sorcerer’s days of kindness were ended, and his days of cruelty had just begun.

The once gentle and caring soul had now become vain, selfish, and power hungry. He began to drain the forest of its magic in order to keep himself young and powerful and the forestry and anything that lived in it began to perish as a result. Surrounding kingdoms seeing the imamate danger sent knights to stop the threat. When that didn’t work they sent their own wizards and witches. After that failed ,they sent a party mixed with witches wizards and knights. And finally when that had fallen through they sent entire armies to deal with the sorcerer, but they have might as well have sent children, he might have at least taken mercy on children. Now only the stupidest of heroes went to try and defeat that monster but to everyone who had their wits about them knew that to see that tower now would be sign of your certain death.

So the sorcerer continued to drain life from the forest and other people who were foolish enough to challenge him until, the great spirit of the forest, the lorax, intervened. The people were happy. They thought if anyone could stop the sorcerer it would certainly be the great and wise spirit who watches over the forest. The lorax demanded that the sorcerer stopped such horrendous acts but the sorcerer scoffed at the idea of stopping. So the spirit tried to be more forceful and use his powers to end the sorcerer’s reign of terror. But the sorcerer had drained so much magic from the forest, that the lorax’s power had been compromised. He could not stop the sorcerer but he could delay him.  
So for decades the lorax and the sorcerer were in a constant sort of stalemate, with the sorcerer finding new and creative ways to chip away at the lorax’s fortifications and draining more magic from the forest. 

The Great Spirit knew that if this fruitless battle kept up for too long it would be a matter of time before the sorcerer would be able to completely over take him. So, the lorax took on an apprentice in hopes that maybe they could use their combined powers to defeat the sorcerer. The young apprentice was studious in the way of ancient magic and in time became a fierce sorceress with an amazing talent for healing the damage that was caused in the forest. But no matter how hard she trained and made herself battle ready, the lorax knew it still wouldn’t be enough to stop the sorcerer. What they needed was to find a weakness in his defenses.

Meanwhile the sorcerer was sighted in a little village one very dark and awful night. He was said be holding a squirming bundle. People wanted to stop him from leaving town with that poor infant. One can only imagine what a creature so shadowy and heartless would want with a defenseless child. But no one dared to stand in his way. They’d only end up getting themselves killed and that would in no way help that poor baby. So they watched on silently as the sorcerer ripped the child away from whatever tender and loving home it might have lived in, and was taken into the depths of the mysterious woods. They say he was whispering something to the newborn. They said it was some kind of terrible spell. Perhaps the same spell that he used to drain the forest. But others say they didn’t hear a spell. They heard a word or rather name.  
“Theodore.”


End file.
